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Lima-based Visanet del Peru S.A. has inked a deal with JCB International wherein the Peruvian company will represent the JCB brand in the acquiring and processing business in Peru. This is the first acquiring agreement for JCB in Peru. Visanet Peru will also introduce the JCB card into the credit card market of Peru for the first time. Visanet del Peru provides acquiring services to 15,500 merchants, which covers almost all of credit card retailers in Peru. JCB’s merchant network includes 11 million merchants. JCB cards are now issued in 18 countries and territories, with 48.4 million cardholders.

Hypercom has launched the “HyperWare 08A” software that makes it possible for one card payment terminal to handle up to 16 different merchant accounts simultaneously, split dial up to eight different application hosts such as stored value, gift and loyalty with 16 supported card types, all at transmission speeds of up to 56 kbps. Making another industry first, Hypercom’s new HyperWare software enables smart, fast and easy dial connectivity to more hosts than any other card payment terminal software on the market. Hypercom is a leading global provider of electronic payment solutions that add value at the point-of-sale for consumers, merchants and acquirers, and yield increased profitability for its customers.

A new survey shows that nearly half of U.S. consumers prefer cash-back over air miles, flexible points, purchase rebates, or purchase discounts. However, air miles posted a strong second place. According to a recent home page poll conducted by CardWeb.com, nearly 34% of consumers listed air miles as their favorite credit card reward. Flexible points, which can be used for anything from merchandise to travel, came in at a distant third. Slightly more than 8% of the 1,058 survey participants voted a points program as their favorite reward. Discounts at the point of sale appealed to only 6% of consumers, while purchase rebates was the favorite reward for only 3% of Americans. American Express says its cash-back program has proved so popular it has extended it to the “Blue Card” and some of its “Business Cards.” Last week, Discover launched two new cards, one offering air miles and the other offering cash-back for gasoline purchases.

Atlanta-based ACG ATM-Remarketers announced this week that it is now offering refurbished-to-order ATM units that feature the latest “Triple DES” upgrades. Working through the ATM manufacturer’s channels and solutions, ACG installs Triple DES compliant hardware and software as the ATM is being rebuilt. After ACG obtains used ATMs from banks and credit unions, the machines are completely disassembled and each part is analyzed separately. The parts are extensively tested individually and repaired where needed.

Atlanta-based InterCept reported third quarter revenues of $64.1 million, a 3.4% decrease compared with 3Q/02. Net Income for the quarter totaled $18,000, compared with net income of $2.8 million, for the three months ended September 30, 2002. Two weeks ago the Company confirmed there is talk of taking the firm private. InterCept reported that revenues from financial institution services grew to $49.5 million, or 7.8% over one-year ago. Total revenues from merchant services in the third quarter were $14.6 million, a 28.5% decrease from the third quarter of 2002. The Company says that revenue from financial institution services increased entirely from internal growth, while revenue from merchant services was lower due to customer attrition in the merchant base. InterCept says it experienced greater than expected conversion costs in Sovereign’s item processing in the third quarter. The Company also experienced difficulties in combining two of its item processing centers, which resulted in expense overruns and a loss of expected savings from the combination of these two centers. These issues caused a shortfall in earnings expectations of approximately $1.2 million in the third quarter. Merchant results were below expectations due to an $0.8 million charge arising from a contract dispute, $0.4 million related to bank assessment charges and a $1.0 million shortfall due to customer attrition. For complete details on InterCept’s performance visit CardData (www.carddata.com).

Houston-based Paymetric has released “XiPay Server 2.5,” a comprehensive software package that enables any company to accept and process payment card information from SAP and other source systems. The new XiPay Version 2.5 release includes a host of user-requested features to expand the capabilities and the overall efficiency of the XiPay Server. Paymetric products include a comprehensive package of extended solutions that provide enhanced payment and financial features directly within the ERP system, such as enhanced reporting, recurring billing, advance billing and enhanced data handling.

First Data’s TeleCheck Services division has launched “PayIt,” a service that allows merchants who accept mailed check payments or checks via a drop-box to convert those payments into electronic transactions, and “Cash It,” a service that enables grocery, convenience store, general retail, and other non-bank merchants to cash their customers’ payroll, government and personal checks. The TeleCheck PayIt service is a simple and convenient way for merchants, billers and small remittance companies to process one-time payments through the Automated Clearing House. The TeleCheck PayIt service is enabled by the TeleCheck Eclipse integrated payment terminal.

Capital One reported that its delinquency rate has declined for the fifth consecutive month. However, the issuer’s charge-off rate for October edged up 6 basis points, the first increase since June of this year. With $68.1 billion in managed loans, and approximately $53 billion in U.S. credit card loans, the issuer reported that charge-offs edged up from 5.24% in September to 5.30% in October. Delinquency declined to 4.52% in October, compared to 4.65% during September, 4.74% in August, 4.92% for July and 4.95% in June. At the end of third quarter, Cap One had 46.4 million accounts, including domestic and international credit cards and auto loans. For complete details on Capital One’s 3Q/03 performance visit CardData (www.carddata.com).

Nashville-based iPayment reported third quarter revenues of of $59,847,000, a 105% increase over one-year ago. Net income for the third quarter increased to $5,086,000, from $820,000 for the third quarter last year. Charge volume for the quarter was $1.729 billion compared to $736 million in the third quarter of 2002. For fiscal 2003, the Company projects annual revenues of $220 million to $225 million and for fiscal 2004, between $255 million and $265 million. iPayment is a provider of credit and debit card-based payment processing services to over 70,000 small U.S. merchants. At the end of October, the firm purchased a merchant portfolio of approximately 1,500 retail merchants with annualized charge volume of over $300 million. For complete details on iPayment’s performance visit CardData (www.carddata.com).

CA-based Payment Processing, Incorporated has hired Eddie Myers, formerly of Paymentech, as VP/GM. Mr. Myers comes to PPI from Paymentech where he held various positions over the last 9 years. Payment Processing, Inc., headquartered at the north end of Silicon Valley in Fremont, California, is a leading provider of custom payment processing solutions for Retail merchants, MOTO merchants and Internet merchants.

Genpass and Paymentech have teamed to offer a one-stop payments solution for community banks. The companies said the alliance leverages its collective portfolio strengths, including geographic coverage, complementary product sets and respective industry leadership, to deliver a holistic solution to its constituencies. Last year, Paymentech and its Canadian affiliate, based in Toronto, processed 4.2 billion transactions and $123 billion in bank card sales in 14 currencies. Genpass processes over 360 million transactions annually.

As of late last week, consumers registered nearly 63,000 complaints against telemarketers since enforcement of the “National Do Not Call Registry” began in October. The FTC said Friday that more than 35,000 telemarketing organizations have accessed the new “National Do Not Call Registry,” with almost 700 downloading all of the area codes in the Registry. The registry now contains nearly 54.3 million telephone numbers. The FTC released a revised version of Q&As for consumers on Friday. The Q&As cover topics such as registration instructions, privacy concerns, and how to file a complaint.